BookMates -Jewish Community Relations Council of SNJ

View our video celebrating 10 years of partnership with the Cherry Hill Police Department!

Celebrating BookMates 10 Years Working with our local Police Departments Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Last evening, BookMates held our End-of-Year Appreciation Event, celebrating a remarkable school year. We recognized our dedicated BookMates volunteers, along with our partners from the Camden County Police Department, Cherry Hill Police Department, and Evesham Township Police Department, whose officers give their time to read to students throughout the community. A special highlight of the evening was celebrating an incredible milestone of our 10-year partnership with the Cherry Hill Police Department. We are deeply grateful for this long-standing collaboration and its lasting impact on students across our region.

Cherry Hill Township Mayor David Fleisher presented BookMates with a proclamation to honor this meaningful partnership. He emphasized the importance of community engagement among the Cherry Hill and Southern New Jersey police departments and the powerful role BookMates volunteers play in making a difference in students’ lives every single day.

Guests were also treated to outstanding performances by students from Van Zant Elementary School, who wowed everyone in attendance. Additionally, we recognized our School Partnership Program, connecting local middle school students with younger students in Camden.

Thank you to all our BookMates for an impactful school year. We look forward to continuing our mission and expanding our impact in the year ahead!

Photo Credit: Marc Shenker

Today, BookMates and BookSmiles held an incredible book drive! Dozens of community members donated thousands of books... our bins were full within only a few hours! This was a wonderful partnership to bring the joy of reading to so many while also sharing the incredible work BookMates and BookSmiles do for our area. Officers from the Cherry Hill Police Department also came by to help with this event.

BookMates and BookSmiles are partnering for a Book Drive on May 7th. Drop off books from 10am-2pm at the BookSmiles truck at the Katz JCC. All books wanted, including textbooks, adult books, and newspapers.

We are proud of our partnership today with Dudley School and the Camden County Police Department to have Jalen Hurts read his new book to students!

Today, BookMates volunteers and Jewish Community Relations Council of Southern New Jersey - JCRC staff participated in Congregation Beth El Voorhees Annual MLK Day of Service. We created bookmarks for students that will be delivered to schools in Camden.

We are extremely proud and grateful of our relationship with the Camden County Police Department making a positive impact on our community!

Last week, BookMates held our end-of-the-year Appreciation Event. Thank you to all of our BookMates for an impactful school year. We honored our BookMates, site coordinators, teachers and our 10-year partnership with the Camden County Police Department. We recognized all of our Police Officers who volunteer with BookMates with the Cherry Hill Police Department and Evesham Township Police (NJ), along with highlighting our school partnership with Harrington Middle School in Mount Laurel.

Cherry Hill Township Councilwoman Michele Golkow also presented a proclamation to Jane Belli for her 20 years of dedication to BookMates! Dudley School students also wowed us with great entertainment!

Photo Credit: Marc Shenker

BookMates values the incredibly impactful partnership with the Camden City School District and Camden County Police Department and we look forward to continuing for many more years to come! See below in the comments for local news stories on this partnership!